Coast Guard Suspends Search for Man Who Fell From Cruise Ship

(NEW YORK) — The Coast Guard said Saturday it has suspended the search for a man who fell overboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship early Friday morning, an incident that was caught on video.

In a statement released Saturday, Capt. Todd Cohheshall, Coast Guard 7th district chief of response management, expressed his sympathies to the man’s family and friends.

“We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones and all that have been affected by this tragedy,” he said.

According to the Coast Guard, the cruise took place 80 nautical miles northeast of Mayaguana, Bahamas. It said that its watchstanders received a report that a man went overboard from the Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas cruise ship around 1 a.m. Friday.

Royal Caribbean said the missing man was a 35-year-old guest from Brazil, and added that he “was spotted by Oasis of the Seas crew members intentionally going over the side of the ship.”

A video showed the man hanging on the side and then falling into the water.

The Coast Guard said a Hercules airplane and Jayhawk helicopter aircrews from Florida probed an area spanning 931 square nautical miles.